Flint Community Opinion: Eileen Buttontag:www.mlive.com,2014:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf/41722011-12-11T17:28:51ZLatest News, Updates and Opinions from Flint-Area CommunitiesMovable Type Enterprise 4.29-advanceA column can change both writers and readerstag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7372022.201112071213092011-12-11T17:28:51Z2011-12-07T17:13:09ZNo one likes to say goodbye. I am no exception. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
No one likes to say goodbye. I am no exception.
Have yourself a wabi-sabi Christmastag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7371953.201112021228062011-12-04T17:18:01Z2011-12-02T17:28:06ZWabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and insight from nature. It's the deliberate removal of materialism from our lives, which may seem a concept introduced a little too late, given the success of last week's Black Friday. But it's never too late for a wabi-sabi intervention. All it takes is a decision to move against the consumeristic tide that threatens to drown us all.
Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and insight from nature. It's the deliberate removal of materialism from our lives, which may seem a concept introduced a little too late, given the success of last week's Black Friday. But it's never too late for a wabi-sabi intervention. All it takes is a decision to move against the consumeristic tide that threatens to drown us all.
Time for student athletes to "Occupy the Sidelines"tag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7307130.201111181114102011-11-27T15:54:33Z2011-11-18T16:14:10ZI invite student athletes from across the nation to refuse to take it anymore. Since letters emphasizing teamwork and cooperation clearly aren't being heeded by many adults, it's time students took things in their own hands. Think of it as Occupy the Sidelines Movement.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
I invite student athletes from across the nation to refuse to take it anymore. Since letters emphasizing teamwork and cooperation clearly aren't being heeded by many adults, it's time students took things in their own hands. Think of it as Occupy the Sidelines Movement.
Gratitude found in unexpected placestag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7272025.201111111327202011-11-20T18:09:30Z2011-11-11T18:27:20ZAlthough it sounds counterintuitive, I believe thanksgiving best fills our hearts for those things we elect to live without for a while. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Although it sounds counterintuitive, I believe thanksgiving best fills our hearts for those things we elect to live without for a while.
Social networking is at its best in the pewtag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7229976.201111031354072011-11-13T18:24:50Z2011-11-03T17:54:07ZThis is one of the many reasons why millions leave behind their Sunday newspapers and the comfort of their homes week after week and venture to places of worship like this. We're reminding ourselves that we are not alone.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
This is one of the many reasons why millions leave behind their Sunday newspapers and the comfort of their homes week after week and venture to places of worship like this. We're reminding ourselves that we are not alone.
Time to redefine "a better life"tag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7197215.201110281253232011-11-06T17:15:37Z2011-10-28T16:53:23ZIt's time to reconsider what it is that we wish for our children. Rather than hoping they'll live better lives than we do, perhaps we should hope that they'll live better lives than our grandparents. Here are three reasons why:Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
It's time to reconsider what it is that we wish for our children. Rather than hoping they'll live better lives than we do, perhaps we should hope that they'll live better lives than our grandparents. Here are three reasons why:
Parents need to power down when teaching teens to drivetag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7160390.201110211157462011-10-30T15:46:10Z2011-10-21T15:57:46ZIn short, telling our children to drive distraction-free while we tweet from shotgun is a lot like telling our kids to eat their broccoli while we munch on Twinkies. If we think they'll listen, we're only fooling ourselves. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
In short, telling our children to drive distraction-free while we tweet from shotgun is a lot like telling our kids to eat their broccoli while we munch on Twinkies. If we think they'll listen, we're only fooling ourselves.
Parents: "Just say no" to frivolous expensestag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7160309.201110211144432011-10-23T15:29:41Z2011-10-21T15:44:43ZToday, parents can forget being nickel and dimed to death. It's the 20 dollars here and the 100 dollars there that are killing us. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Today, parents can forget being nickel and dimed to death. It's the 20 dollars here and the 100 dollars there that are killing us.
This is not your grandfather's small appliancetag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7053191.201110100719232011-10-09T15:34:14Z2011-10-10T11:19:23ZThis is a toaster of the new millennium. Not only does it cook breakfast, it writes me a column.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
This is a toaster of the new millennium. Not only does it cook breakfast, it writes me a column.
Cultivating contentment is the key to happinesstag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7090390.201110071307552011-10-16T16:50:41Z2011-10-07T17:07:55ZI allowed contentment to settle my soul as I put my garden to rest for the winter and considered the feeling which, to be honest, felt a lot like an old favorite sweater that I'd forgotten I owned.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
I allowed contentment to settle my soul as I put my garden to rest for the winter and considered the feeling which, to be honest, felt a lot like an old favorite sweater that I'd forgotten I owned.
Of robins and college catalogstag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.7006593.201110021325152011-10-02T18:00:39Z2011-10-02T17:25:15ZThe college catalogs that fill the mailbox and litter the countertops remind me that my oldest is preparing to leave the nest. He's mustering the courage to test his wings. I'm mustering the courage to watch him fly. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
The college catalogs that fill the mailbox and litter the countertops remind me that my oldest is preparing to leave the nest. He's mustering the courage to test his wings. I'm mustering the courage to watch him fly.
Stop watching, start livingtag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6982826.201109161354482011-09-25T17:43:10Z2011-09-16T17:54:48ZWe cannot fool ourselves into believing that watching "The Bachelor" will somehow satisfy our need to be loved any more than watching "Hell's Kitchen" will make us better cooks.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
We cannot fool ourselves into believing that watching "The Bachelor" will somehow satisfy our need to be loved any more than watching "Hell's Kitchen" will make us better cooks.
The times they are a-changin'tag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6944874.201109091110302011-09-18T14:48:04Z2011-09-09T15:10:30ZSomewhere along the way I realized that Chicken Little's warning, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" is just a line in a Golden Book. Within reason, my kids need to (gulp!) figure things out on their own. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Somewhere along the way I realized that Chicken Little's warning, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" is just a line in a Golden Book. Within reason, my kids need to (gulp!) figure things out on their own.
A teacher's influence shines ontag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6870929.201109021207542011-09-04T17:56:44Z2011-09-02T16:07:54ZThree decades have passed since I sat in the third row of Mr. Verzella's classroom, but I recall it like it was just a few semesters ago. He was more than an English teacher; he was a hometown hero and a dynamic force who believed in America, education, a well-written sentence and newspapers.
Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Three decades have passed since I sat in the third row of Mr. Verzella's classroom, but I recall it like it was just a few semesters ago. He was more than an English teacher; he was a hometown hero and a dynamic force who believed in America, education, a well-written sentence and newspapers.
Three simple commands can shift perspectivetag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6911029.201109021141322011-09-11T15:30:53Z2011-09-02T15:41:32Z"Be patient."
"Be faithful."
"Be kind."
Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
"Be patient."
"Be faithful."
"Be kind."
Every family needs to have a food fighttag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6761517.201108230828432011-08-21T16:17:55Z2011-08-23T12:28:43ZWhat we eat is intensely personal. And yet ... it's not. The price we're paying for industrialized food extends beyond what we see on our Kroger receipts. We're paying with our very lives.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
What we eat is intensely personal. And yet ... it's not. The price we're paying for industrialized food extends beyond what we see on our Kroger receipts. We're paying with our very lives.
Making room for the divine can be healingtag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6832601.201108191257402011-08-28T16:42:59Z2011-08-19T16:57:40ZI think the best we can do in this crazy life is to risk being vulnerable and open to one another ... to enter into another's sorrow... to hold onto one another while we wait through the storms ... to share whatever strength we've been given ... to allow our own hearts to be broken in the name of friendship. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
I think the best we can do in this crazy life is to risk being vulnerable and open to one another ... to enter into another's sorrow... to hold onto one another while we wait through the storms ... to share whatever strength we've been given ... to allow our own hearts to be broken in the name of friendship.
No such thing as "just a pickle" when they're Gram'stag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6761446.201108051256432011-08-14T16:10:19Z2011-08-05T16:56:43ZI suppose there are those who would question my decision to share what could be a secret recipe, especially when my gram is no longer alive to snatch it from my hands. Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
I suppose there are those who would question my decision to share what could be a secret recipe, especially when my gram is no longer alive to snatch it from my hands.
Wanted: POT (Parents of Teens) Meetingstag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6727441.201107290903382011-08-07T12:42:07Z2011-07-29T13:03:38ZNow that two of my three children are teenagers, I could really use a POT (Parents of Teens) meeting. Since no such thing exists, my husband and I often find ourselves navigating unfamiliar territory without a GPS.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Now that two of my three children are teenagers, I could really use a POT (Parents of Teens) meeting. Since no such thing exists, my husband and I often find ourselves navigating unfamiliar territory without a GPS.
Let the rest of the world go bytag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6696881.201107221235352011-07-31T16:07:06Z2011-07-22T16:35:35ZTime mercilessly marches on without the luxury of a pause button, so we must take notice of the scenes when life seems to stop and grace is extended in the form of a song and a prayer.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Time mercilessly marches on without the luxury of a pause button, so we must take notice of the scenes when life seems to stop and grace is extended in the form of a song and a prayer.
Clotheslines make surprising altarstag:www.mlive.com,2011:/communitynewspapers/opinion/index.ssf//4172.6626642.201107121359532011-07-17T15:13:54Z2011-07-12T17:59:53ZUnder these four stretched-out cords I come to realize that my clothesline is an altar of sorts. This is the place where I meet God.Eileen Button | Flint Journalhttp://connect.mlive.com/user/ebutton/index.html
Under these four stretched-out cords I come to realize that my clothesline is an altar of sorts. This is the place where I meet God.